TAKING SIDES

Impassioned recollections of a war correspondent and geopolitical advocate.

“By accepting who I am and recognising the part of me that longed to dedicate myself to activism,” writes Tadros, “I changed my life and found fulfillment.” An Egyptian Coptic Christian, she grew up comfortably in Britain after her parents prospered. As she writes, “I only came along after the tough immigrant years were already over.” The author opens her memoir in a time of transition, when she was interviewing for a key position at Amnesty International while dealing with heartbreak from her fiance’s abrupt departure. After 9/11, her degree in Middle Eastern studies opened doors for her. “My obsession with the region,” she writes, “was proving useful beyond the university circles I was used to.” Initially met with British condescension, Tadros was recruited for the startup of Al Jazeera English. “At Al Jazeera, my divided identity—Arab and yet also British—would finally be an asset,” she writes. Initially a researcher, she went on air during a sudden conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants, and “a year that had started in Gaza with death and destruction was somehow ending with glamour and prestige.” At the same time, she realized that the more she dug into her reporting, “the more I felt a growing sense of unease that I couldn’t explain.” These divisions deepened during coverage of the Arab Spring movement, and the author vividly captures both its optimism and its many negative elements, including a chilling account of being assaulted by pro-regime thugs during violent counterprotests. These experiences led her to further fulfillment as an Amnesty International representative at the U.N., dealing with crises including the Syrian war and the Trump administration’s distracting hostility toward the U.N. The author’s writing is clear and passionate, though occasionally repetitive; her personal ups and downs detract from otherwise powerful messaging.

A solid contribution to current conversations about privilege and consensus-building for international crises.